Abstract
Language and communication deficits characterize both autism spectrum disorder and developmental language disorder, and the possibility of there being a common profile of these is a matter of tireless debate in the research community. This experimental study addresses the relation of these two developmental conditions in the critical topic of language. A total of 103 children (79 males, 24 females) participated in the present study. Specifically, the study’s sample consisted of 40 children with autism, 28 children with developmental language disorder, and 35 typically developing children between 6 and 12 years old. All children completed language and cognitive measures. The results showed that there is a subgroup inside the autism group of children who demonstrate language difficulties similar to children with developmental language disorder. Specifically, two different subgroups were derived from the autism group; those with language impairment and those without. Both autism and language-impaired groups scored lower than typically developing children on all language measures indicating a common pathology in language ability. The results of this study shed light on the relation between the two disorders, supporting the assumption of a subgroup with language impairment inside the autism spectrum disorder population. The common picture presented by the two developmental conditions highlights the need for further research in the field.
Highlights
24 females) participated in the present study
The Non-Words Repetition task (NWR) data was treated as raw scores because we wanted to include in our methodological design the factor of age
We were not able to manipulate all data in this way, since there are measures that provide their diagnostic algorithms, and transformation to z scores is already constructed by the manual provided, as in the case of Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence First Edition (WASI), and CCC-2
Summary
24 females) participated in the present study. the study’s sample consisted of 40 children with autism, 28 children with developmental language disorder, and 35 typically developing children between 6 and 12 years old. Two different subgroups were derived from the autism group; those with language impairment and those without Both autism and language-impaired groups scored lower than typically developing children on all language measures indicating a common pathology in language ability. Pragmatics resides at the top of the hierarchy of the building blocks of language and is defined as one’s ability to use the language appropriately in each context [3]. Deficits in this last component of language led some researchers to the conclusion that structural language deficits may be present in ASD [4]. The research community has raised its interest in whether ASD and DLD disorders overlap, and examines the possibility that these two disorders may consist of different manifestations of the same underlying cause
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
